Punishment (A Little Nightmares Fanfic)

Act 2: Labyrinth Part 2

I feel my fingers wrap around the shining beacon, making me grin. Attempting to bring it closer to me, something resists. I grit my teeth, a sound of anger leaving my throat as I rip it away from whatever was holding onto it. 

I grin as I look down at my beautiful new ring. I put it around my finger, feeling my body shiver as I stare at it. My vision clears, my heart-rate calming down. I look around the room, broken furniture covering the floor, black-inky ooze covering a good portion of it. 

Looking down at where the ring was, I see a small hand and arm coming out of a fallen nightstand. The sudden smell of rot attacks my nostrils, making me cover them quickly. Looking around the rest of the room, broken china and glass cover the floor. The thick layer of dust lets me know that it's been like this for awhile.

Rotting pieces of wood took up most of the wall opposite of me, splintering with large holes rotted away.  With my nose still covered, I charge forward, smashing my way through the rotten wood, grimacing in pain. 

Looking down at my bare feet, I notice small bits of porcelain stabbed into them. I prop myself up against a wall, letting out a groan as I painstakingly pull out each shard of porcelain.

Blood trickled down my feet, the stinging pain making my feet ache. Looking up, I stare into the dark abyss leading me forward. I decided to rest for a little bit, my eyes slowly closing. Just as I was about to pass out, movement caught my eye.

I quickly open my eyes, my senses going on alert. Was it something dangerous? Looking down at my feet, I realized just how bad the bleeding was. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice something move once again, like a shadow dashing in and out of the darkness. 

Suddenly, out of the abyss in front of me, a small form shapes itself in front of me, the shadow resembling that of a child. I attempt to back up, using my hands to slid my bottom against the cold metal ground away from it. 

I was almost instantly met by a cold wall, the shadow walking closer and closer to me. A glint of something shiny caught my attention, making me notice the ring on it's hand, similar to the one I just collected. Reaching behind it, the shadow pulls out a roll of bandages, placing them in front of me. 

The shadow then turns away, waving a goodbye before dissolving into the abyss. Scooting closer to the bandages, I start wrapping my feet. I felt strange, not remembering how I knew how to wrap bandages, but my hands took control and made sure they were nice and tight around the wounds. 

After the bandages were applied, I attempt standing up. My feet still ache, but at least this would stop the bleeding for the time being. Pulling out my box, I look at the matches I have left. "Four left..." I mumble to myself, pulling one out and lighting it quickly. 

Walking was a pain at first, being able to only stumble at first. The match lit my path forward well enough. A vent was in front of me, beckoning me forward. Crawling into the cold metal cave of the vent, I start crawling through. I had my hand covering my match, preventing it from going out at the moment. 

A cross section was in front of me, making choose between left and right once more. I decide to go left, dropping my used match at the cross section as I go. The end of it was a sheer drop, making me turn back.

Taking a right, the path leads to a ladder. Climbing up, I push open a grate, stepping into a dark room. One end of the room was pitch black, whilst the other had a line of hooks moving to the other side of the ravine. 

A steel cage would allow me to jump up to the hooks, giving me an idea. Climbing up on top of the cage, I wait for the next hook to pass overhead. Once one was close, I jumped up, gripping tightly on the hook as it slowly took me across the ravine. 

I drop down on the other side, letting out a soft grunt from the impact. Looking around, I spot an open vent on the ground, leading down. Walking over to the shaft, I look down it. A black abyss was staring at me, making me frown. 'I don't know what I was thinking...' 

Grabbing onto the rungs of the ladder, I start descending down into the darkness. My eyes slowly adjusted as I go down, making me spot the bottom of the ladder. At the bottom of the ladder was two options.

Looking at the two, I decide to go right. I crawl slowly down the path, leading me to  a small nome hide out. Paper planes were scattered on the floor, a statue in the middle of the room. It was a fat boy, ceramic tears rolling down his face. 

Picking it up, I throw it against the wall, a familiar puff of black mist rising out of the ceramic pieces. A copper coin greeted me, making me smile a I put it in my box. Looking around, there wasn't really anyway out of the room except the way I came. 

I crawl my way back to the ladder before heading down the other path. A vent covering blocks my path, making me push on it with my shoulder. It creaks loudly as I force it open, dropping down on my side. 

Rubbing my head, I slowly get up. "Ow..." Looking around the room, I spot a elevator. It was small, probably made for a nome. I step inside it, the small basket slowly descending into a darkness. Even as my eyes adjust, the darkness was suffocating. 

The basket lurched as it stops, signaling me to step out. I couldn't see a thing, making me fumble to light a match. 

'Two matches left...' My brain notes as the room is flooded with light. The room seemed empty, making me walk around before finding a vent to go into. Crawling inside, the match lit my path, allowing me to see down the long vent. It seems to be connected to a much bigger room, making me pause.

This would be a good resting point, the massive room making me nervous. I had a bad feeling about this. Luckily, a nome hide out was also connected to this vent, allowing me to rest before doing that large room. 

I light the lantern in the small nome room, sitting down next to it and watching the flame calmly as I begin to rest.

Word Count: 1147